If you want to closely follow Dr. Simeons’ protocol.... No green beans!

He worked with it for twenty years and determined what food worked with the HCG Diet and what food did not work with the HCG diet. Broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, turkey, and all those other “typical” diet foods are not specific. Therefore, you could assume that he did try those foods and simply did not get good results, which is why he did not include them.

Personally, I feel that everyone should stick to Dr. Simeons' protocol. It has been around since the 1950's... if it is not, broken don't fix it!

I have heard of others eating green beans and still being able to lose weight on the HCG Diet, but the questions is "Could they have lost more weight without the green beans?"

Remember that Dr. S wrote the book for professionals who were going to offer the diet to their patients. He had to pull together all the guidelines in the most generic way possible. To do that, he had to keep things simple and use foods that he knew worked for everyone "all" the time. It is always best to begin with hcg by following the strict guidelines and get a good start on losing, and know just what your body will do. But as you progress through weeks of p2, there is no harm in trying something that you enjoy and have had no trouble with before. I know that for me I can use almost any low-carb/non-starchy veggie and still lose well. I mix my veggies. I rarely have the fruit and when I do it is just berries. Those are things that I can do. Others may have problems with some of that. To be absolutely sure, stick to strict protocol. But when things become boring or too difficult, try one new item and see if it works for you. As long as you understand the possible consequences (a day of no loss or maybe a few days of slow losses), and are prepared to deal with it and not feel like you've failed, you will have no problems.